When All is Forgotten
by Faerydae Kenna
Summary: Five thousand years after Malistaire's downfall, Wizard City has forgotten that magic truly existed, for all magic has been lost, and the bonds between the worlds strained. But when seven unsuspecting kids discover the dangerous truth, will magic return?
1. The Bet

**Alrighty, this is my first—and probably my only—fic on this fandom. If you're a little bit patient, the plot will start to really show itself after a few chapters. If you're curious, I will provide a full summary in my bio, but it probably won't be up until tomorrow. Either way, I hope this is to your satisfaction. **

"Mommy, why is Wizard City called Wizard City?" she'd asked once at the age of seven. "Why wizards?"

And her mother had just smiled and replied, "Oh, because people say that wizards used to live here, of course! How about I tell you the story of your ancestor Moira DragonHeart, the savior of—"

"Mommy, did she have a dragon heart? Jeremy StarCatcher said he can catch stars because his last name is StarCatcher. Is that true? Did Moira have a dragon heart? Am I a soul thief?" she'd interrupted. Her mother had simply rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Of course not, sweetie. Don't be silly."

That was as straight an answer as the woman had ever given. So at age ten, the questions had stopped.

Calamity pulled herself out of her reverie and continued to feel around her nightstand.

_Candlestick_, she thought. _Where is that candlestick?_

"Ha!" she exclaimed, grinning victoriously as her fingertips brushed against the hardened cylinder of yellow-white wax. Clumsily she struck a match, gritting her teeth as she burned her fingers along with the candle wick. "Damn," she muttered.

Clutching the candle tightly in her hand, Calamity searched through her clothing drawers, slipping into gray skinny jeans, a long and stretchy pale green tank top, and a long-sleeved black shirt. She grimaced as she dropped the candle burned a hole in her favorite pair of bright blue skinny jeans. "I'm really starting to miss electricity."

She ran down the stairs to get a bite of breakfast before meeting her friends by the waterfall in The Commons. Calamity hastily threw open cupboard after cupboard, finding only a small package of crackers and a mound of gently rotting fruit. Or at least, she _thought_ it was fruit.

"No breakfast, then," she decided wistfully. She sighed, pushed open the heavy wooden door, and started off through the chilly streets of Colossus Boulevard. Calamity hurried through the Shopping District, passing by the grocery store in slight hopes that it was open. It wasn't.

"Onna!" she called as she spied her best friend jogging through the arched stone tunnel that led to The Commons. Said best friend turned around and offered a forced smile as Calamity ran over and hooked arms with her.

"This is insanity," declared Onna agitatedly. "All the technology in all of Wizard City stops working, the animals are acting weird, the plants are looking and tasting strange, and all in all everything seems to be regressing back into the Dark Ages. And of course, our so-called 'Honorable Members of Society' have no idea what to do! I don't know who came up with this political system, but whoever it was deserves a kick in the arse."

"Why don't you just say ass?"

"Because I don't like the way it sounds. Oh, and happy birthday by the way."

Calamity frowned. "My birthday was two months ago."

Onna pulled an apple out of her pocket and held it out. "Yes, but I brought you the gift of breakfast, seeing as you probably skipped again."

A sheepish smile formed on Calamity's face. "Thanks, Onna. You're an angel," she said, taking the apple and biting into it.

"Aren't I?" Onna laughed. "C'mon, we should probably get going. You know the crazy things Kael does when he's been forced to wait too long."

"I'll bet you your favorite pair of boots that by the time we get there he'll be jumping off one of the highest branches on the tree next to Rainbow Bridge," challenged Calamity, her eyes gleaming. Onna grinned.

"You're on. But when I win, you have to get us all past the door behind the waterfall, _plus_ the one that's boarded up in The Commons."

"Challenge accepted. Let's go!" Calamity said excitedly, pulling her friend along behind her as she raced out of the tunnel and through The Commons until they reached Rainbow Bridge. Kael was just hauling himself up onto the first branches of the tree.

Onna clapped her hands. "Ha! He's not even high enough up to make a good jump yet! I win, I get to keep my boots, and _you_ have to take us to see what's behind those doors."

Calamity sighed and twisted a handful of thick black hair around her fingers and tugged. Actually having to get them through the doors was not something she had been counting on. She jerked her head up at the sound of a crazed battle cry, just in time to see Kael leap from high in the tree and land in the river with a splash.

"Oh, sure, _now_ you jump," she muttered. The boy swam over to the bridge and hauled himself up.

"So what's this I hear about doors?" he asked, pushing his sopping brown hair out of his face as he and the others crowded around Onna and Calamity to hear the news.

"_Calamity_ has to take us all to see what's behind the door in the waterfall, _and_ that door that's boarded up around here," Onna squealed. Calamity rolled her eyes and picked at a scab on her thumb.

The girls chattered on excitedly. Kael pumped his fist in the air.

"Yes! I've wanted to go past those doors ever since I was a little kid."

Astra nodded. "Yeah, Cal, let's go now!" she urged. Amalida frowned and shook her head, her slightly frizzy brown hair flying around her face.

"I want to see it, too," said Amalida, "but don't think that it's a very good idea."

Levvy grabbed her friend by the shoulders. "C'mon, 'Lida!" she exclaimed, gently shaking Amalida with her skinny arms. "Live a little! Geez, you know we love you, but you can be so anti-excitement sometimes."

Calamity crossed her arms. "I, for one, agree with Amalida," she decided.

Jacynth pulled her waist-length black hair into a ponytail and grinned. "You just don't want to take us, huh? I bet you're scared, aren't you?" she teased. Calamity's face flushed.

"No! I just don't see the point in it all. I mean, for all we know, there could be absolutely nothing at all behind those doors."

"And what if there _is_? What if there's some incredible secret just waiting for us to find it?" demanded Kael. "What if the answer to the universe lies beyond those doors? Or what if there's some amazing adventure that we're destined to go on? There may be nothing, but Cal, if we don't at least try, we'll never know!"

The corners of Calamity's lips curled into a devilish smile. She had always wanted to go on an amazing, life-changing adventure. She'd never wanted such a boring existence as being born, living an ordinary life, and then dying. She wanted excitement, like in books and movies and fairytales. She wanted to save the world. Small world as it may be, but a world all the same.

"Alright," she decided finally. "Let's do it."

Amalida groaned as the others whooped and hollered and squealed with excitement. "You know this can only end in tears?" she pointed out, turning to Calamity. The raven-haired girl shrugged her shoulders and nodded.

"Of course. But why not have fun with it while we can? I mean, for all we know, Kael could be right. Maybe we'll find an _adventure_, 'Lida! What's the harm?"

**So how was it? Do you like it, do you love it, do you hate it, did it suck? Let me know so that I may improve upon my writing skills! Reviews are love. Flames… well, I don't really care. Flame all you want, for I shall use them to roast marshmallows and make s'mores!**


	2. Unlocked

The night air was frigid. All was dark and quiet as Calamity wove her way through the streets of The Commons, hurrying in the direction of the waterfall.

A hand grabbed her arm. She screamed, and screamed louder when another hand came up to clap itself over her mouth. "Calamity!" hissed the voice of her captor. "It's me, Kael! Quit screaming! Ah, you're biting, you're biting!"

"Kael!" she whisper-yelled when her friend removed his palm from her face. "Why on Wizard City would you sneak up on me like that?"

"Well, it's not like I meant to!" he whispered back, examining the bite marks on his right hand. "Who would I be, anyway? It's not like we don't know everyone in Wizard City."

"Sorry if I'm nervous about the crime we're about to commit!" snapped Calamity in agitation, casting nervous glances at the houses around her, primarily the Minister's house. Kael frowned.

"Since when are you nervous about committing crimes?"

"Since never. What I'm nervous about is getting caught," she explained matter-of-factly. She grabbed Kael's arm and pulled him along to the waterfall.

"Guys!" she whispered upon arrival. "You here?"

"Is that you, Calamity?" she heard someone call quietly.

"Yeah, it's me!" she said. "But for future reference, it would make sense to _not_ call my name. You know, in case it _wasn't_ me."

"Oh yeah. Sorry," said the voice, which belonged to Onna, who stepped out from behind the waterfall. "Come on! You guys are the last ones here. You took forever, and the girls are getting tired of waiting."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah," muttered Calamity as she and Kael edged into the cave. Sadly, though not unexpectedly, the toe of Calamity's boot got caught on a small pebble. As she tried to maneuver it over the pebble, she misjudged the pebble's size, and tumbled forward into the waterfall. Kael crouched down and thrust his arm through the water. Slippery fingers grasped his hand, and he pulled as hard as he could.

"You know… for someone so short… you're _really_ heavy," said Kael with a groan.

Calamity flopped onto the floor of the cave, ignoring the fact that she was getting dirt stuck to the front of her shirt and pants. "I hate this. It's a good thing my bag is waterproof and sealed tightly."

She got to her feet and tried uselessly to brush the damp dirt from her clothes. Levvy snickered.

"Smooth moves there, Cal."

"Shut up or I swear I will rip out your tongue."

Onna giggled. "Sorry, Cal, but I have to agree. You've always been pretty clumsy."

"I hate you all. Now, let's get down to business: has anyone got a paperclip?"

Everyone shook their heads. Calamity sighed. "Alright, has anyone got a hairpin?" she tried again.

"Oh, I think I do!" said Kael, digging around in his pocket. Everybody stared at him as he held a hairpin out to his friend.

"What're you all looking at me like that for?" he asked. No one answered. Finally, deciding to let it go, Calamity kneeled by the large padlock on the door.

"Onna, gimme your knife," she ordered. Onna dug her black switchblade out of her pocket and handed it over.

"You're welcome," she said dryly. Calamity ignored her, focusing on tying to pick the tumbler with the hairpin. She jammed the switchblade in next to the pin to turn the cylinder. In a minute or so, the lock clicked open, and the girl slid it off and set it on the ground.

"That was… easier than I expected," she murmured.

"C'mon, hurry up!" urged Astra. Instead of waiting for an answer, or simply for her friend to open the door, Astra ran up and pushed it open herself, hurrying into the space beyond.

Calamity made a face. "C'mon, hurry up!" she mimicked in a high-pitched voice.

Onna rolled her eyes and grabbed Calamity's arm, and they competed with the others, pushing and pulling and yanking as they all tried to get through the door first, which made no sense because it was a very reasonably-sized door. Eventually, they all tumbled through and landed in a large heap.

Kael was the first to scramble to the top of the pile. He leapt to his feet and dashed away through the fog. Moments later, a loud thud could be heard, followed by an "Ow!" and a "Kael… you're a dork."

A figure burst out of the mist—which, as Calamity and the others had noticed, was an odd and shimmering purple in color—and bounced around excitedly. Astra.

"Guys, you have to see this!" she exclaimed. "You will _never_ believe what I just found!"

**REVIEW! Please…. Anyway, I'm taking OC submissions. You can either submit them through reviews or you can PM me, it doesn't matter which. But I will warn you, no submitted OC's will show up until much later in the story, because that is when Calamity and her friends will start to form a resistance against the bad guy and try to gather as many followers as possible. I will try to use all the OC's submitted though. But please, although it is an interesting thing, no people with color-changing hair or eyes or anything. To me, it just screams Mary-Sue. I get that in a world of wizards and magic, it is easy to get carried away and make Mary-Sues, but try to tone it down a little. It makes for a more realistic story, or at least as realistic as you can get when you're writing about a topic like this. Love you all!**


	3. Discovery

**Lice eggs with no actual lice running around. How the hell does THAT happen? Stupid sister. Now I have to cut off my hair. Perfect. It takes a whole year just for it to grow three inches. Anyway, let's get to business. Sakura Zen: I would be absolutely DELIGHTED to use one of your OC's! I'm not sure which one I'm going to choose yet, but I will eventually. Now, on with the story!**

Calamity stared up at the gray stone building. It was quite frightening, really, but she found it sort of appealing. Next to the building was a tiny withered sapling. She felt sort of bad for it. It was kind of pathetic. But what really creeped her out about the place was the fact that it had graves next to it, and that the words "School of Death" were printed above the door. School of Death? What the heck does that even mean? How do you teach a person to die? Or is it a school for dead people?

"Come on, hurry up!" urged Astra. "This isn't even the cool part!" She pushed open the door and prodded her friends with a stick she had found on the ground.

Amalida paled at the spectacle inside the building. A skeleton lay on the steps that led to a large desk piled with books, papers, and various other assorted objects. Its clothes had long since worn away, but the lantern on the floor next to it had the words "Property of Dworgyn" on it. She guessed that had probably been the skeleton's name when it was a person.

"You okay, 'Lida?" asked Jacynth, albeit a bit shakily.

"Okay? Why on Wizard City would I be _okay_? There's a dead person sitting on the ground in front of us!"

"Well. There's no need for shouting."

Astra waved her arms around. "Why are you all focusing on the skeleton? Yeah, he's dead. That's unfortunate. But he's probably been dead awhile anyway. So look around! The stuff in here is so much more interesting than that!"

Calamity did as she was told and glanced around the cramped room. Desks were overturned. Books and old feather quills were scattered about. Little pots of ink had fallen over and their ink had dried in puddles. There were black braziers in each corner of the room, but they were long burned out. Books sat askew on a bookshelf by the desk that Dworgyn the skeleton lay in front of. Two lecterns with heavy-looking books on them stood at either side of the desk, near the large windows. But the thing that really caught everyone's eye was the chalk and eraser that were flying in front of a blackboard to the left of the desk and functioning on their own.

"Holy shit," whispered Kael as he walked slowly up the little steps and cautiously extended a hand. Two inches away from grabbing the chalk out of the air, the eraser flew over, hit him on the back of the hand, and went back to its work.

"I think my mind just exploded," he said.

"This is _so_ cool!" five of the girls squealed in unison. Onna shook her head.

"Uh-uh. This is creepy. It's weird. Chalk isn't supposed to fly around by itself."

"Aw, is someone scared?" taunted Astra.

"No!" snapped Onna defensively. "It's just that this shouldn't be happening. It's impossible."

Calamity didn't reply. She didn't say anything at all. She was too busy staring at nothing, smiling to herself at the "impossibility" of the situation. It was just the kind of thing she'd always hoped for.

**xEmilz: I will put your OC in my story. But could you try to revise it a little, maybe? I don't want you to change your character or anything. It's just that the worlds have no connection in my story. The bonds between the worlds have been forgotten, and are now thought of as a myth, as the World Keys have been lost. Also, could you put what school Ryan is, please? I'm guessing Death, but I just want to be sure.**

**Babydoll3425: I don't want to put the boyfriends in, but I might. MAYBE.**


	4. The Tree with a Face

**SOOO, anyone here listen to songs by Caitlin Crosby? No? Then listen to her! She's awesome! Look her songs up on YouTube or iTunes. My favorite ones are Flawz and Imperfect is the New Perfect. The latter has one cuss word in it, but just one.**

Amalida frowned and rubbed her pale arms. It wasn't cold out, but that place behind the waterfall had been spooky.

"Ugh, I can't see anything," Astra complained, cramming a hat down over her wavy brown hair. Everyone else groaned in unison.

"Yes, Astra, we _know_ you can't see. We've known that for the last fifteen minutes," snapped Onna agitatedly.

"Calm down, people," said Calamity. "Let's handle this situation with a little decorum."

She then walked straight into a tree. "Well, that wasn't unexpected."

"Hey, the passageway is right here!" Kael whisper-yelled excitedly as he ran his fingers across the rough, mildewed boards that blocked it off. "How are we going to open it up?"

"That's what she said!" cried Astra, Onna, and Levvy in unison. They were ignored.

"I have a crowbar," offered Calamity.

"Why do you have a crowbar?" asked Levvy curiously.

"Let's see, maybe because we were all supposed to bring things that would be useful in case something happened, like if we _did_ have to suddenly go on some crazy adventure?" she answered sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah…."

She pulled it out of her backpack handed the crowbar to Kael, who positioned it in front of the middle board. "Wait!"

The others turned to face Calamity with quizzical looks on their faces. "People will notice that the boards are missing," she explained. "Let's just take off the bottom one."

Kael nodded and pried off the rotting board, which fell to the ground with a presumable thud. "Who's going in first?" he asked.

"That's what she said!" the girls called again. Kael rolled his eyes.

"Come on, guys, I'm serious."

"Yeah!" said Calamity. "Unlike the rest of you, we happen to take our questing seriously."

"Questing? Wow, you are a dork, my dear," said Onna. "I vote Cal!"

The others looked at her in confusion. "I vote that she goes first," she explained.

"What? That's not fair!" whined Calamity. "I had the crowbar."

"Alright then, how about youngest goes first?"

"Well, okay, I guess that's… hey, wait! I'd still go first!"

"Exactly," said Levvy with a grin. Calamity frowned and tugged at her still-damp black hair.

"Fine. But if I die, you're all going to miss me."

Astra shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Meanies." Calamity cast a glare at her friends before dropping to her knees and crawling through the small opening in the boards.

The area through the arch was dark. Calamity felt lonely and a bit frightened. She knew her friends were close-by, but she wasn't so sure she'd be able to get away quick enough if something bad happened. The cool wind blew her hair wildly about her face, and her boots made resonating tapping noises as she walked forward on the cobblestoned pathway.

She really couldn't see a thing. She knew there were buildings, but that was about it. "Guys," she called, "I think it's safe."

When the others had managed to wriggle through the boards, Calamity felt much safer. She continued her exploration, trying not to trip over anything.

"It's cold here," she muttered. She jogged up a small hill.

"Why are these buildings all surrounding this empty hill?" wondered Levvy, more just thinking out loud than actually seeking an answer.

"It isn't empty," said Calamity, crouching down at the peak of the hill. "There's a little shrub right here, right in the middle."

Everyone hurried to see the wonder of the tiny plant.

"So what's the big deal?" asked Kael. "What makes this thing so special?"

"How should I know?" Calamity replied in a snarky tone, lightly touching one of the frail, sickly brown branches on the shrub in front of her. The shrub glowed suddenly with a pale green light, and Cal scrambled backward, startled. The shrub began to grow larger as the glow became brighter, and eventually Calamity stood and hurried off the hill.

An enormous tree stood in front of the group, and they stared in wonder and slight horror as the tree developed a face. It looked at them sternly.

"Hello, children. My name is Bartleby."

**Yes, well, that's all I have to write for now. I know it's not long. Mostly it's just a filler for them to meet Bartleby. I just got in trouble for eating ice cream. Oh! And can you guys all do me a favor? Could you go R&R the X-Men: Evolution story What They Found in Kansas by EphemeralPhobia? Seriously, it won't take very long, and if you could just please do that, I would be really, really, REALLY sincerely grateful. Hope you enjoyed reading this short chapter and HAVE A NICE DAY! **


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